Sue Steinberg Invites UW Madison Students to Awaken their Inner Mavericks

October 22, 2009

By Ali Stevenson x'10
MADISON, Wis. – Do something! That was the recurring theme that came up during Sue Steinberg’s talk on the UW-Madison campus.

Over 80 students and alumni came out in the rain on October 22 to hear Steinberg speak about her career in magazines and television, and learn about “awakening their inner maverick” in the job market.
After a short walk down memory lane, that included a brief recap of Steinberg’s previous work experience at companies like Seventeen and as a co-founder of MTV, she focused her presentation on providing advice for entering and succeeding in the workplace. Included in this advice were three statements:
Tips from Sue Steinburg
Steinberg stressed that students and alumni should “never say no to an opportunity.” Madison student Steven Olikara x’12 found this to be one of the biggest takeaways from the presentation and said, “a lot of students can learn a lot from her message about keeping options open.” She also emphasized that people need to figure out what makes them most happy, and to use those experiences to land the jobs they want.
Other key points Steinberg made were “you are the brand” and “sell yourself as yourself.” She focused on those points as a way to encourage the audience to sell themselves as individuals and not always connect themselves to a company. Shaun Aukland x’10 enjoyed this perspective, and also liked the unique opportunity to “have access to someone who has had the experience in the work place” and to hear her sharing advice.
After finishing her presentation Steinberg remained to answer questions from students and alumni. Tom and Karen Huismann (’82 and ’86) said they found the presentation “outstanding” and that, as alumni, “it is wonderful to come back to campus to take advantage of these opportunities.”